ADAM SMITH AND SYMPATHY.

ADAM SMITH AND SYMPATHY. Adam Smith wrote about how “an invisible hand” would lead individuals acting in their own interest to advance the interest of society despite “their natural selfishness and rapacity.” Where does morality come from in such a world? Smith’s answer was: sympathy. I quote from this wikipedia article: “Smith’s goal in THE THEORY OF THE MORAL SENTIMENTS is to explain the source of mankind’s ability to form moral judgements, in spite of man’s natural inclinations toward self-interest. Smith proposes a theory of sympathy in which the act of observing others makes people aware of themselves and the morality of their own behavior. Haakonssen (2002) writes in his introduction to [THE THEORY OF THE MORAL SENTIMENTS] that in Smith’s theory, ‘one only learns to see oneself as a person and as a member of a moral universe of agents through sympathy with others’ view of one’s identity and situation in the world. Society is, as Smith says, the mirror in which one catches sight of oneself, morally speaking.’ Through sympathy, people perceive an imaginary ‘impartial spectator’ of themselves which forms the basis of their morality.” Now mirror neurons may provide a biological basis for some of Smith’s theories.